BJP Banking On Modi Charisma, Poll Management In Five Election-Bound States

Undeterred by a big setback in West Bengal, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has started preparations for assembly elections slated next year in Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Manipur and Goa. After the recent marathon meeting attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, party president JP Nadda and senior office-bearers, the party has set sights on increasing the assembly segment-wise presence of the senior leaders. The saffron party has decided to strengthen the booth level management in all five states — notwithstanding criticism over the handling of the pandemic and the covid-hit economy. BJP will set up a five-member committee for each page of the electoral roll with the objective of providing the much-needed support to the party, and reaching out to every voter in the individual constituency. UP is critical for the party’s quest to retain power and the party is leaving nothing to chance: it’s bringing together CM Yogi Adityanath, Dy CM KP Maurya and other factions. Modi’s blue-eyed boy AK Sharma, who has been appointed as the state unit vice president, is also likely to play a key role in the makeover after the Yogi government came under attack on numerous fronts. BJP insiders say that Modi has yet again taken the control of poll management in a serious bid to avoid a West Bengal-like setback.